Self-Driving Cars Likely To Spur Solo Occupancy and Paradoxically Undercut True Ridesharing

Self-driving cars might spark solo occupancy, rather than increasing the number of occupants per ... [ ] trip. Today's ridesharing via Uber and Lyft is supposed to get more people to share rides and therefore cut down on the number of trips made, along with making more efficient use of cars and roadways, plus saving the earth by knocking down the volume of harmful exhaust emissions. Unfortunately, contemporary ridesharing is more akin to ride-hailing than it is to actual ride sharing. By-and-large, people using present-day ridesharing services are taking trips that encompass just one passenger, themselves. They are hailing a ride that will transport themselves, only, and not sharing the ride with any other passengers (a scant one-fifth of the time they opt for sharing a ride).